


Cabin Nein

by Rei_The_Rat_King



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Beauregard Lionett Has ADHD, Beauregard Lionett Has Issues, Canon Non-Binary Character, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Beauregard Lionett, Self-Indulgent, Team as Family, They all have issues, They/Them Pronouns for Mollymauk Tealeaf, summer camp is used loosely
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rei_The_Rat_King/pseuds/Rei_The_Rat_King
Summary: Beau is a troubled teenager. Always has been, probably always will be. For years, it only led to petty squabbles and detentions, but after a few too many run-ins with the cops, her dad decided that enough was enough and sent her off to Camp Savalierwood, a rehabilitation camp for troubled teens.At first, Beau is nervous. Her chronic fear of being abandoned is coming true, and everyone she's ever loved is an 8-hour car ride away. Somehow, though, through all the stress, she gets stuck in a cabin with some of the best people she could ever wish of meeting: The Mighty Nein. Sure, they're all a little fucked up, and they share about 3/4's of a braincell at any given moment, but they don't judge her for her flaws and they treat her like one of the team from the start. And for once in her life, Beau feels wanted.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	1. Arrival and Orientation

With her father’s face still stuck in the back of her mind and an ass so numb she sometimes forgot she had it, it’s no surprise that Beau was a bit pissed off. While the overstimulation of it all had subsided a few hours into the trip, it had left her with that numb, empty feeling that made her stomach hurt and her headache worsen, so by the time they had hit the edge of the woods, she was one wrong word away from a full-blown meltdown.

Eric, her social worker, seemed to sense her frustration, so as they curled up the janky “road” that led to Camp Savalierwood, he once again did his best to start a conversation. The sound of 90’s love songs faded into white noise as he looked at her in the rearview mirror, an attempt at a comforting smile across his face. “How are we feeling back there?”

Beau sunk lower into her seat, the numbness in her right ankle suddenly turning into pins and needles. They had been playing this dance for the past 8 hours, but, for better or worse, Eric was not one to give up on conversations, no matter how hard she tried to push him away. Taking note of this, she gave him a half-hearted thumbs-up and shoved on the smile she used when she talked to her father. Once again, Eric saw right through that. Fucking Eric.

He let out a deep breath and focused on the road, though his eyes kept darting back to beau every few moments. “I know that face, what’s going on?”

“Just tired,” she lied. She had a feeling that getting into it fully wouldn’t end well. “Believe it or not, I’ve barely moved in almost 8 hours.”

“I offered to stop multiple times, you know.”

“I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of having you right on my ass the whole time.”

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t run away at the first chance you had, Beau.” 

As much as she wanted to argue with him, he did have a point. Instead, she slunk down further into her chair and rested her head against the window, suddenly becoming very entertained by the view.

Eric cleared his throat unceremoniously and did that weird drumming thing that all dads do on the steering wheel. “Well, we’ve got a little less than a mile to go, so I’d recommend waking up a bit.”

_ Yay. Great. Hallelujah _ . 

Beau pulled her legs out from under her and started to stretch out in the cramped space. She kicked her duffle bag a few times, and her back hurt a lot more now that she was mostly upright, but as the squat, stone admin office came into view, she could already feel herself waking up. It sucked, honestly. She would rather not have to deal with this while conscious or sober, but, then again, that was one of the reasons she was here in the first place, so she added that to her mental list of “Fucked Up Stuff To Talk About” and tried her best not to yawn again. 

Surprisingly to her, there wasn’t a gate or a fence around the camp. When Eric had told her about Camp Savalierwood, he had described it as a “youth rehabilitation camp”, which of course translated into her mind as “psych ward, but make it hip”. Even when he had shown her some of the promotional pictures, there was a little voice in the back of her head asking where all the security measures were. Yet, when she looked out into the woods around her, she didn’t see any. It weirded her out more than she cared to admit. When she could see things, she knew how to deal with them. When she couldn’t, well. That's when her paranoia took over, and those nights were never fun.

She shook the thought from her head absently, quickly mumbling about how they would probably say something about it in the orientation as Eric put the car into park. “Alright, kiddo. You ready to get all settled in?”

Beau let out a dry chuckle and unbuckled her seatbelt. “I have never been more excited for something in my life.”

Though the sentence was absolutely dripping with sarcasm, Eric gave her a wide, goofy smile and got out of the car. 

\--------------------------

The two grabbed the few bags Beau had bothered to pack out of the trunk, doing a quick check to make sure she had everything in case Eric needed to run her something tomorrow, and then made their way into the admin building. Immediately, Beau was hit with a wall of vanilla and pine that almost had her coughing. She let out a wheeze of surprise as the door closed behind her, barely noticing the faint chime she heard from the other room. “Jesus Christ, that is strong!”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that,” the man said, waving his hands through the air as if that would move the smell away.

“Sorry, I’ll be there in a moment.” A female voice echoed from a bit further in the building, seemingly behind the large, oak desk that sat in front of them. It was pretty much the only defining feature in the small room, save a few pieces of artwork and a weird amount of doors.

Beau ran her fingers through her hair and tried her best to look presentable, something her father had ingrained in her at a young age. Despite her best efforts, she still found herself doing it.

A few moments later, a tall woman in her mid-to-late-20’s came wandering out of one of the doors, her face pulled into a small frown. Her blond hair was pulled into a french braid and she wore a thin, light blue flannel that didn’t seem too hot for her. Somehow, both her brain and her shirt were almost immaculately clean, despite the thin layer of dust and dirt that surrounded each and every one of them. Beau found herself staring at her for a long moment as she brushed a bit of nothing off of her shirt and approached the desk. “Again, my apologies, we had an incident in the kitchens this morning, and apparently my lovely partner did not know you were supposed to put water in humidifiers with the essential oils. It was already too late when I got here.” She cleared her throat and started pulling something up on a laptop. “My name is Allura, I’m one of the co-head counselors here. Normally, Kima is the one who takes in new entries, but she is currently dealing with the consequences of her actions, so I’m gonna be doing it today.”

Beau stifled a bit of a laugh and Eric nudged her in the side with his elbow as he started pulling her paperwork out of his bag. “Ah, yes, I believe we talked on the phone yesterday. Uh, I’m Eric, this is Beauregard.”

The girl gave a sarcastic salute to Allura and lifted her bag a bit higher on her shoulder. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Though the woman’s eyebrows were still curved into a look of stress, Beau didn’t feel anything forced as she smiled at her. It was soft and warm. Almost like her mother’s when she was having a good day. She felt a smile well up inside of her, but she didn’t let it show until Allura turned her attention back to Eric. “Can I get the full name and case number, please?”

\--------------------------

The two discussed paperwork for what felt like an eternity, and by the time their attention was back on beau, the girl was slumped in a corner with her nose in a book. Allura wandered out from behind the desk and sat down next to her with a soft smile. Beau noticed, but chose not to pay attention until she initiated a conversation. “What are you reading there?”

“A slightly modernized version of Romeo and Juliet. The original makes my head spin.” She let out a soft sigh and looked at the cover for a minute. “I stole it from my dad’s library before I left. I always found it kind of comforting.”

“Why is that?”

Beau let out a chuckle, leaning back against the wall as she looked up at Allura. “As stupid as I am, at least I’m not this stupid.”

The older woman let out a chuckle of her own. “Yeah, that’s fair.” She cleared her throat and looked down at the clipboard in her hand, which Beau had somehow failed to notice. “I know you and Eric have probably gone over this stuff already, but do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

She let out a soft sigh and closed the book without ceremony. Even without a bookmark, she had a handy habit of remembering her page. “Yeah, sure, whatever you need.” Already, she could feel the drop in her mood. She much rather talk about books than her issues. 

“Thank you for being cooperative.” Allura looked down at the first page and pulled a pen out of her hair to write. “Ok, these are gonna seem stupid, but these are basic screeners to make sure you’re fully present and your brain is functioning properly. First, what’s your name?”

“Beauregard Lionett, but I vastly prefer Beau.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. How old are you?”

“I turned 15 a few months ago.”

“What day is it today?”

Beau paused at that one and looked up towards the ceiling. “I think it’s Tuesday? I know it’s the 15th, but I have no idea what day of the week it is.”

“Close enough, honestly. Do you know where you are right now?”

“Uh, the admin building of Camp Savalierwood, but if you wanted the state, I can’t really tell you. I stopped paying attention to road signs a few miles in.”

Allura waved her hand a little and smiled. “Don’t worry about it, you got the gist. Uh, final one of these questions, do you know why you’re here?”

There was a long, tentative pause before beau spoke. “Yes, I do.”

“Do you mind being a bit more specific?”

Beau’s face curled into a soft frown as she stared into the wood floor beneath her. She knew this was gonna be a question, but the idea of talking about it made her want to just curl up into a ball and evaporate. Still, she steeled her mind and kept her eyes focused on something that wouldn’t stress her out. “How specific do you want?”

She felt Allura shrug beside her. “However much you’re willing. I just need something to write down.”

“Well,” she sighed. “I’m generally just an asshole to people. I get into a lot of fights, I’ve gotten arrested a few times, my dad and I have a “tentative relationship”, which is just my therapist’s way of saying we piss each other off constantly. Just general anger issues stuff.”

Allura spent a moment writing that all down before tapping her pen against the end of her clipboard. “Thanks for being honest with me.” With that, she stood up from her spot and stretched her legs. “Alright, that’s all the questions I have for you right now. I’m sure Vex is gonna have some later, but you look like you need a bit of a break. You want to head down to your cabin with me?”

Beau gave a vague nod and stood up, throwing her backpack over her shoulder once again. She looked back across the room and saw Eric leaning against the wall. In the moment, she had honestly forgotten he was there, as for once in his life, he was being quiet, but now she was facing the reality of him leaving again. It was stupid. She shouldn’t be this attached to a guy who was just paid to get her to all of her appointments. But in the end, he was one of the few resources she had. And he was going to leave her here. She felt a twinge of pain in her chest at that idea, the one her therapist constantly told her was just an anxious extreme. People don’t just leave the people they love alone. Yet here she was: her parents a fer states over, her friends there with them, and the one person who had gotten her this far was about to leave. She found herself rubbing her hand across the studs of her pants, trying desperately to keep herself here instead of some distant planet made of all the possible ways life could end poorly.

Eric’s voice cut through her thoughts as he walked closer. “What’s on your mind?”

Beau tapped her fingernails against the metal and looked up at him, forcing a laugh out. “I’m just glad to be getting you away from me.”

Part of her immediately cringed at her words, but Eric just gave her a soft smile. “You know, you can just say “I’m gonna miss you”. It’s not gonna make me leave faster.”

“Fine.” She cleared her throat, but it was more to keep the emotions down than it was for any other reason. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, Beau.” He ruffled a bit of her hair and she smacked at his hand a few times. “I’ll send you a letter as soon as I get back, and you better send me one back.”

She let out a noise of discomfort and gently jabbed him in the side. “Don’t get sappy on me, it’s not my style.”

He looked down at her for a long moment before pulling her into a hug. “Yeah, it is your style. Don’t even lie to me, kid.”

At first, Beau was stiff. The less emotion she showed towards this the better, at least in her mind. But after a few moments, she found herself sinking into the hug, trying her best not to let any of the few stray tears she had out. It worked, for the most part, and she spent a while just grounding herself in the moment. Eric’s shirt was scratchy against her face, his cologne was annoying, and the pen in his pocket was digging into her cheek almost painfully, but for once, she didn’t say anything. All together, they were just what she needed to be where she was.

And then those feelings went away and Eric was looking down at her with a bittersweet smile. He quickly wiped a stray tear away from her cheek, giving her a knowing look as he did, before he pather on the back. “You’re gonna do great here. I promise. If not, tell me about it in the letter and I will come get you in a heartbeat.”

Beau’s face widened into a soft smile and she looked back down at the ground. “Thanks, Eric. I’m looking forward to the letter.”

Neither of them said goodbye. Whether it was to help Beau’s fear of being abandoned or simply because it didn’t feel right, she didn’t know, but a few courtesies later, Eric was getting in the car and pulling off into the woods. Allura walked over to her and stood beside her, not touching her, but still making her presence known. There was a long pause before she finally spoke. “Are you ready to go, or do you need a minute?”

Beau didn’t say anything, just lifted one of the duffle bags up in her arms with a nod. Allura gave her a soft frown, but it seemed to be out of sympathy this time, not stress. She reached down and grabbed the bags that Beau couldn’t manage. Though she was strong, she couldn’t carry everything. “Alright, let’s head down to the cabin.”

\--------------------------

The two made their way out back into the heat, the smell of damp dirt replacing the overwhelming pine that Beau had almost forgotten about, and for the first few moments, they walked in silence. She suspected that Allura was trying to let her destress a little, but ironically, the strange silence was making her even more uncomfortable. On most days, she would have been loud or said the first thing that came to her mind, but she was so exhausted already that the words just weren’t coming. Too many emotions for her. She was probably gonna be like this tomorrow too. 

After they wandered for about 5 minutes, Allura cleared her throat and looked back down at her clipboard. “Alright, it looks like you’re gonna be in Cabin… Nine. Huh.” She looked over at Beau with a small confused look. “From what I read, your parents don’t seem like the type to expressly ask for you to be put in the gender-neutral cabin.”

Beau let out a laugh that was half-humor, half-exhaustion as she kicked a stick off the path. “In most situations, they wouldn’t be, but they definitely make exceptions in that regard.”

Allura raised an eyebrow at her and Beau felt the need to elaborate. “We had a talk about it before I left. They think that maybe this will prevent me from being promiscuous.” 

Whether it was the sentiment or the weird accent that Beau put on the word “promiscuous”, she didn’t know, but Allura let out a small laugh as she spoke. “Yeah, no, that doesn’t stop anyone.”

“I know, right? But I wasn’t gonna tell them that, it would just lead to an argument again.” Beau crossed her arms over her chest as she realized what she was saying. “Not that I’m gonna… you know.”

“Honestly, more of the counselors get in trouble for it than the kids.”

“Wait, really?”

Allura did a quick scan of the area as she walked. “Oh yeah. It’s what happens when you have multiple couples living at a camp year-round. Don’t tell them I told you, though, I’d get yelled at.”

Beau, the ever studious for gossip, tilted her head to the side and started paying more attention. The conversation was fun now. “Why would you get yelled at? Aren’t you in charge?”

“Legally, yeah.” Allura adjusted the bags in her hands and finally looked down at the younger girl. “In reality, though, we all kind of run it together. It started off as just Kima and I, but we ended up becoming good friends with all the staff, so now it’s more of a group effort, you know?”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “I’ve always thought that was a good way to run things.”

“Right? No need to argue or make people uncomfortable, just do what’s best for everybody.” Allura smiled down at Beau before turning her attention back to her clipboard. “I’m supposed to be giving you an orientation, but here I am rambling on.”

Beau gave a bit of a shrug. “Honestly, this is kind of entertaining, so I don’t mind. Besides, I’m good at figuring things out on my own.”

The older woman waved her hand dismissively and pulled one of the duffle bags over her shoulder. “No no no, don’t be like that. It's part of my job.” She used her now free hand to flip through the first few pieces of paper before settling on one page. “Alright, let’s see. You’re gonna be in Cabin Nine. It’s the last bed in there, so be warned, you are gonna have roommates. You should also be warned that it's our most rambunctious cabin, but-” She gave the girl a quick once over and smiled. “-I think you’re gonna fit right in.” 

Beau raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Allura just shrugged. “I don’t know. You just give me the vibe.” Before Beau could object, she went back to looking at the paper. “The rules are a bit loose, I’m gonna be honest with you. Basically, don’t do anything that will hurt you or someone else and you won’t get in trouble. Also, don’t go out into the woods unless you have someone with you, even to the bathroom. We once had a kid get lost for a day and a half because he wandered the wrong direction, so now we have that in place.”

“Was he ok?”

“Yeah, he was mostly just tired. On that note, since you are in Cabin Nine, I am going to let you know in advance that Veth and Jester are no longer allowed to be buddies. They will try and trick you, so I’m telling you now. If you’re wondering who they are, I assure you, you will find out very quickly.” She flipped the page and gave a small chuckle. “Looks like you’re gonna have therapy with Vex on Tuesdays and Thursdays and… Anger Management with Grog on Saturdays. That ones gonna be fun to watch.”

Beau gave her a small, confused smile that made her look a bit like a puppy who just heard a new sound. “Why is that?”

Allura started to answer, then stopped herself and smiled. “I feel like that's one you need to experience for yourself. I assure you, it’s gonna be fine.” She cleared her throat, turning her attention towards the path in front of them. “Somehow, I managed to do that all in time. Up ahead, you can see your cabin. It’s the second one in the line, the first is for the staff who work with your group. I think you guys have Vax and Percy, but I may have gotten that mixed up.”

“Are they cool?” Beau shifted the weight of her backpack a bit and looked down at the cabins in front of them. She didn’t actually care that much, she just liked hearing Allura talk about stuff. Her voice was kind of comforting.

The older woman thought for a moment as the two walked up into the circle of cabins. There were 6 in total, all sitting in a semi-circle around a sort of courtyard. They were labeled 5-10, which confused beau a bit, but then she noticed that a sign said “Teen Area” and she figured that the other 4 were with the younger kids. The place looked comfortable, if a little bit cramped, and all of the cabins had fun decorations on them that made them seem more unique. 

Beau found herself staring at it for a long while as Allura spoke. “That depends on how you define cool. I’m sure the other members of your cabin would love to fill you in. Especially Molly. They love talking about the staff.” She kicked at the dirt a little as she approached the door, giving a quick look to Beau. “I don’t think anyone's here, it should be group time. Are you ready to head in or do you need a minute?”

“Nah, I’m ready. I’d rather be unpacked before everyone gets here, you know? Don’t wanna take up too much space.”

“Seems fair to me. I don’t think they’ll mind though” Allura gave her a smile that seemed to shine a bit brighter than usual and reached to open the door.


	2. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau finally meets the Mighty Nein. Shenanigans ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little bit on the longer side, just to let you know. I was trying to make her meetings with everyone as natural as possible.

Before she could actually open the door, though, a loud clattering noise came from inside that seemed to bump into the wall beside the door. Almost immediately, two voices rang out from inside, one that was loudly speaking in a language that Beau couldn’t understand, and another that was laughing hysterically. Before either herself or Allura had recovered from the sudden racket, the voice that was yelling started speaking in Common. “It’s not funny, Nott!”

The laughing sputtered a little before breaking down into more laughter and the girl on the other side seemed to huff a bit harder. It was then that Allura’s face transitioned from fear to pure exhaustion, the lines on her forehead growing deeper by the minute. She looked down at Beau with a small frown. “Apparently, I was wrong.” She carefully put Beau’s bags down before reaching forward again and opening the door. “What are you two doing?”

Immediately, both of the figures froze in place. Though she could only see the stiff, curled up, blue tail of the girl who had been talking beside the door, she could fully see the girl who was laughing in the back of the cabin. She was short, probably a halfling, with long, brown hair that was pulled back into a few braids, and she seemed to be on the older end of the age group. Her face was stuck in a mix of surprise and worry at the sight of Allura, but her body was still curled up in a ball from laughing. Based on the conversation she had sort-of heard through the door, she guessed this was Nott.

Allura stepped into the room, but Beau stayed, preferring to watch this happen from a distance to gauge how it would go. There was a long pause as neither of the girls spoke, but then the voice of the other girl peeped out from out of view. “Well, it depends. Are you asking why we’re in the cabin, or why I’m covered in paint and holding a squirrel, because those are very different stories.”

The older woman’s face contorted into pure confusion as she stared the girl down, and Beau could make out the stifled laughs from Nott in the background. “I- I really don’t know where to begin with this.” She took a deep breath and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Just start from the beginning please.”

“Well, you know, Percy and Vax were gonna take us to the lake, which most of us were all for because it’s been  _ super  _ hot this week, but Nott didn’t really wanna go because she hates the water, but you already know that, and anyway-”

Allura raised a hand to her and let out a sigh. “Veth, can you please tell me what's going on?”

The older girl sat up fully, clearing her throat in an attempt to stop laughing and rubbing her hands together. “Basically, Jess pulled Percy underwater as a prank, so I started laughing, and because I was laughing so hard, they thought I was involved-”

“Because you were.”

The girl (Veth? Nott? Was there a third person in the room that Beau couldn’t see?) shot a glare at the unseen girl, Jess, before crossing her arms. “That’s neither here nor there.” She turned back to Allura with a shrug. “Basically, we got sent to spend the rest of the group in the cabin.”

Allura didn’t seem at all surprised by this conversation, and the names “Jess” and “Veth” started turning gears in Beau's head. Based on the conversation, it made sense that they weren’t allowed to be unsupervised. “Ok, now… why is Jester a rainbow?”

“That, I have no way of explaining without you thinking I smuggled booze in again, so you’re gonna have to sit through her.”

Jester made a small scoffing noise and started walking into Beau’s range of view to go sit on one of the beds, which thankfully had a towel laid across it. The tiefling had so many splotches of paint on her that Beau genuinely couldn’t tell which one was her skin, and her overalls seemed to have pieces of some wood stuck to them. She seemed a bit younger than Veth, maybe even a bit younger than herself, but the paint made that a bit difficult to discern. Also, she was holding a squirrel.

The tiefling huffed a bit and looked back at Veth with a scowl. “Just because I share all the details doesn’t mean you have to  _ sit through me _ . The people need to know!”

“Jess,” Allura said, bringing the girl’s attention back to her. “You were saying?”

She gave a nod and stared down at the squirrel, her legs kicking softly against the edge of the bed. “Well, I found this squirrel on the way back to the cabin, and he, like, actually let me hold him, so I picked him up and took him here. His name is Cheerio. And, you know, I love him, and I can’t just let him hop around the cabin without Frumpkin trying to get him, so I was trying to make him a little house! Then-” She pointed vaguely in the direction she had come from. “-he got out of my hands, so I chased after him and tripped over the painting stuff. And it got everywhere. And his house is now stuck to my shirt ‘cuz the paint was tacky. On the plus side, I’m a rainbow!”

Allura’s concern cracked into a smile as she stared at the girl, reminding Beau of the way her mother looked at her younger brother. Sure, there was a mess that needed cleaning up, and sure, there were some shenanigans being thrown around, but there was affection and laughter in her eyes that made it feel ok. It gave Beau a weird mix of homesickness and hope that she was honestly too tired to decipher at the moment. Most likely, she wasn’t gonna sleep tonight, so there would be time then. 

Beau found herself clenching her fist around her duffle bag and shook her head, trying her best not to think too much about home. Allura’s voice came back into focus. “-shower. That way you can get the lake water off of you too.”

Jester looked down in the squirrel in her hands, then behind her. “ _ Nott _ , can you hold my squirrel while I take a shower?”

“There is no way in hell I am holding that thing. It's gonna give me rabies or something.” The older girl reached into her bag and took a swig from her water bottle with a look of mild distaste towards it.

“Cheerio would never!” She said defensively.

Allura stepped in and held a hand out towards Jester. “How about I take him down to Vex and see what she thinks. Maybe she can help you build him a house later, you know she loves animals.”

Jester looked at her suspiciously, though whether it was specific to Allura or just her general opinion of people was hard to tell. “You’re not gonna secretly let him out into the woods, are you?”

“Jester, of course I wouldn’t do that.” She reached forward and brushed a bit of the girl’s hair back, still wet with paint and lake water and sticking to her horn. “If I thought we should let him go, I would have said that.”

She sat there chewing on her lip for a second before her fast almost ripped in half with a smile. “Ok! Thank you, Allura!” She drew out the middle in a sing-songy fashion as she stood up, grabbing the towel off the bed and diving back where Beau couldn’t see. “Is the key to the soap and stuff still under that pipe?”

“How do you know where that is?”

“I’m very good at finding things, you know. And besides, it's not like I told anyone with those kinds of problems. I just like taking showers when people are sleeping so the water’s hot.”

Veth sat up in the background suddenly. “Wait, is that why the water’s always cold in the mornings.”

“Well, thatwasagoodtalkgladwehaditImgonnago-” 

The girl took off out the door, almost running smack into Beau, but fortunately, she had always been pretty good and getting out of the way fast. In one quick motion, her bags were all on the other side of her body and she was rolling on top of them, knowing that all the stuff inside them was wrapped in clothes and safe. A better choice to land on than the sticks and rocks that surrounded her.

The books, though, were not nearly as soft as the clothes. Those were just stuffed in her backpack, and the sharp edge of one of them dug right into her side as she fell. She let out a small groan of pain and the blur stopped, immediately spinning to look in her direction. “Oh my gosh, are you ok? Wait, are you new? Is that why you’re here, Allura? Oh gosh, I am so sorry, I didn’t even know.”

She ran over to help her up and Beau threw her arms up out of instinct, the muscle memory from all the fights she’d been in kicking in suddenly. Jester flinched away with worry and cocked her head to the side, but Beau quickly tried to pull a cover up. “Nonono, it’s-its fine. I just got startled, it’s fine.” In a few motions, she was up again, dusting the remnants of dirt and leaves that hadn’t fully rotted from last fall off her bags.

Allura walked over and helped dust her off, being mindful to only brush the bags and not the girl, a soft frown on her face. “Oh dear. Well, that's one way to introduce you two, I suppose.” She did a quick visual assessment of Beau before leaning a little closer to make sure Jester and the approaching Veth couldn’t hear her. “You alright? Do I need to take you to the nurse?”

Beau quickly shook her head, brushing back the bit of hair that had escaped from her topknot. “No, it’s all good. I promise.”

If Allura could see through the defensiveness, she chose not to say anything, instead giving the girl a stiff nod. “If you say so.” She gave her one more quick glance before turning back to the other girls. “Alright, girls, I was gonna do this after you guys got back from the lake, but since you’re already here, you wanna do some introductions?”

Veth sloshed the contents of her water bottle around while looking at Beau before looking at Allura again. “Are we gonna do them later with the group?”

“Well, yes, there are other people who live here.”

“Then no, I’m gonna take a nap and do it later.” Before the woman had time to object, she was walking back into the cabin, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Both Beau and Allura stared at the door in silence for a minute, but Jester just shook her head with a sigh. “Hi, I’m Jester! Sorry about almost running into you and being covered in paint. Also sorry about Nott. She’s not the most people-forward person, but I swear you’ll like her once you get to know her. She’s super funny and really good at pranks. Although, I would keep any especially shiny things out of her sight.”

Beau nodded quickly along, trying her best to keep up with the girls speed. She seemed nice enough, but she had a lot more energy than her, and Beau had had a long day. “Uh, hi. I’m Beau.”

“Nice to meet you, Beau!” She reached a paint-covered hand out and Beau took it gingerly, giving it a quick shake before pulling away. Luckily, none transferred. “I’m gonna go take a shower now! There’s a bunch of stuff that’s gonna look weird, but don’t worry, I’ll explain it when I get back.”

With that, she was off, doing a small skip towards the building on the end of the row that Beau assumed was the bathroom. Allura gave the speedy girl a small chuckle as she looked back down at Beau. “She is… a bit excitable, but she’s a good kid. It takes a bit of getting used to.”

“Yeah, I can tell. I think I need a coffee just to catch up to her.” Beau pulled on her backpack strap for no particular reason, just feeling the padded fabric.

“I’m sure you’re gonna get along. Let's actually go unpack now.”

“Yes please.”

\--------------------------

The two headed into the cabin, bags in hand once again, and started the process of unpacking. Everything was a bit of a mess after the squirrel-painting incident, but with a begrudging Veth’s help, they managed to clean it up enough that it wouldn’t be a hazard anymore. 

Beau occasionally found herself staring at different knick knacks and paintings around the room, finding interest in all the little details that made the cabin its own. The area surrounding each person’s bed seemed to be personalized with colors and individual paintings and a small shelf by each one. There were flowers and books, vines and waves, strange eyes that seemed to stare at you but somehow didn’t seem too threatening. Jester’s bed was the most colorful, sporting unicorns and rainbows and lots of flowers that were shaped suspiciously like dicks. Veth’s had lots of knick knacks; pictures in frames, pictures not in frames, jars of buttons and shiny rocks and sticks. They all were so different in color and style, but they fit together like a weird patchwork quilt, none of them seeming out of place in the slightest.

Then there was Beau’s bed, which had been left mostly untouched by the painting. It sat in the middle of the room, tucked between Jester’s bed and the one that had imagery of the ocean across its walls, across from the one that had small vines growing up from under the bed. It felt a little strange, being in a room with so many other people who would be with her when she slept, but she tried not to dwell on it too much. Instead, she focused on getting her sheets set up, putting the picture of her family up on the nightstand, shoving her books on the shelf, folding her laundry right for the first time in her life. Everything stupid and necessary to being unpacked. Even when everything was done, her bed still seemed the blandest, but she didn’t mind it so much. It probably would have been scarier if her area already had paintings and stuff on it.

About halfway through, Allura had to leave to go help Kima, but Beau didn’t mind working on her own, so it was fine. Veth was watching her weirdly, but whenever she looked over, she went back to flipping through her journal, and that was fine too. She was probably just sizing her up. She would have been doing the same thing. And besides, the silence was much more comforting than it normally was.

Once she was done, the girl flopped down on her bed and waited, letting her eyes close fully for the first time in hours. She didn’t even bother moving her blanket to get under it. She just let her worries melt into the mattress like she had done every day since she was 7, the anxiety of the day flowing out of her like streams of water. It was nice. Nice to rest, nice to pause. Nice to fade into the darkness of her thoughts and drift.

\--------------------------

She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep. Trying to tell the difference between the darkness behind her eyelids and the empty expanse of her dreamless mind was like trying to tell where the shore ends and the seafloor begins. They looked the same, they felt the same, and the transition is so subtle that even if you broke it down into small pieces, it would be hard to find the crossover. In the end, it was just her, her thoughts, and the darkness.

Some sounds did slip through. For a while, she could have almost imagined she was home from the similarities of those sounds. The tree scraping the roof was strangely similar to the one against her window, just tall enough to climb down when she wanted to escape for a little and close enough that she could climb back in before her parents noticed. The sound of Veth’s notebook pages turning reminded her of her mother reading in her chair by the fire, sharing a silent moment with her daughter as she slept on the couch. The footsteps and whispered conversations were the closest to home. So many nights, she had fallen asleep to the sound of people bumbling around in the halls, either cleaning or working on security or simply off to their own room for the night. The voices that she heard began to sound like the cleaning ladies who would park right outside her door and gossip. Beau had always loved to find “hidden” information, so when things were safe enough for her growing mind, they would make sure to talk about it right where she could hear it from the bed she was pretending to sleep in. It began to change from feeling like a memory to feeling like she was there. It felt sweet, you know? The idea that maybe this whale camp thing was the real dream, and that she had really just been in bed having some weird drug-dream after smoking with her friends again. Maybe she would open her eyes in a bit and look up at the plastic stars her father had taped to her ceiling so many years ago.

Obviously, she didn’t. About an hour into her half-dream, the sound of footsteps next to her bed and some aggressive whispering began to shake her from her sleep. The muffled nature of the words started to fade away as she woke up, the noises turning into real words.

“-all, let alone when you’ve never met the person doing it!” The voice came from her left, towards the back of the cabin. It has a smooth, southern drawl to it that Beau didn't recognize, but she was still too sleepy to think much of it.

“I’ve met her, Fjord! We talked earlier when she first came in!” That voice was Jester’s. It came from her right.

“Meeting someone once doesn’t mean you get to shake someone awake! You know how hard this is for most kids.”

“She didn’t seem like the paranoid ones, Fjord, she seemed more like Yasha.”

“Yasha is also a “paranoid one”.”

“You know what I mean!”

Beau had a lot of questions, but her stupid wake-up brain managed to condense it all into a single, slurred “What?”

Both the voices let out noises of surprise and seemingly jumped away based on the small thuds that followed. Against her better judgment, Beau slowly sat up, rubbing her eye with her knuckles before getting a good look at her surroundings. The light from outside was definitely fading, though some streaks of sunlight still made their way through the half-covered windows. She could hear more voices outside, though the door was closed and she couldn’t see who was there. And then, of course, there were the two figures who had been standing over her: Jester, and the nervous looking half-orc that she had heard jester call Fjord. He was standing awkwardly near the bed covered in sea imagery while Jester was already walking closer again. “Oh, hey, Beau. Did we wake you up?”

“Yeah,” she said shortly, her hands already reaching for the hair tie she knew had fallen out of her hair. When she remembered that she sounded rude when she woke up, she threw in a mumbled apology.

Jester gave a shrug to Fjord, who looked mildly displeased. “I mean, problem solved?” Her attention shifted back to Beau. “Vax said it’s time for dinner, so we were trying to figure out how to wake you up.”

“It’s dinner already?”

“Yup! I think it’s taco night.”

Fjord stood up off the bed and fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. “How do you always know what’s for dinner?”

“I try to always know. Some of the kids get anxious about it, so they can come to me to figure it out,” She said with a shrug. “Plus, Kima thinks I’m funny, so she’ll tell me anything.”

Fjord gave her a bit of a nod before walking towards the door. “Should I tell Vax to wait, or should I let them just go on ahead?”

As they spoke, Beau began to get out of bed and put her hair back up, trying to look as awake as she possibly could. Jester started to respond, but she quickly interrupted. “Don’t make them wait, it’s not important.”

“You sure?” Jester tilted her head to the side a bit.

“Yeah, it’s- it’s all good.” She grabbed a jacket off the side of the bed where she had left it and started throwing it on while walking towards the door. “See, all good.”

Fjord opened the door for her as she passed and Beau quickly made her way towards where the rest of the teenagers were clumping up by a tree. She made sure to leave a good bit of distance between herself and anyone else. At the front of the clump was a lanky, pale half-elf with a clipboard in his hand. When he saw Jester skipping her way towards the group, he gave her a nod and started talking. “Alright, is everyone here?”

There was a chorus of nods and yep’s that caused him to nod. “Sounds like it. Uh, according to the menu, it’s make your own taco night.”

“Told you.” Jester said, nudging Fjord with her elbow and making the taller man chuckle.

“After dinner, some of you have individual. If you don’t know if you do, talk to me during dinner. If you don’t have it, please stay in your cabins, we've had some issues with certain members painting dicks on the other cabins.” Almost immediately, most of the group turned to Jester, who was trying to suppress a giggle. The pale man didn’t pay any attention to that. “Blah blah blah, wash your hands before eating, you guys know that. Uh… yeah, let’s just go to dinner.”

Without another word, the group made its way up the hill towards a large, wooden building that Beau hadn’t noticed on the trip down. Everyone filed in, each one of them either talking to their neighbor or sitting in a soft silence. Inside, the room was the perfect balance between the heat of the kitchn and the scary strength of an air conditioner in the middle of June, the smell of tacos and various fresh vegetables filling the air. A bunch of circular tables with chairs in sets of 8 sat scattered around with one big table at the front with food on it. People immediately began to sit down without much thought, though Beau stayed in the doorway, watching as she tried to figure out where she was supposed to go. Was there assigned seating? Did she have assigned seating? Would she get in trouble if she went to the wrong part? She didn’t have any answers, but she was too stubborn to ask, so she just stayed in the doorway, looking at the crowd of people with wide, sleepy eyes.

Eventually, a voice caught hers through the crowd and her eyes caught on to a blue hand waving through the air. At a table in the back, she could see Jester, Veth, Fjord, and a few other kids she didn’t recognize all sitting in at one table. There was one seat open. “Beau, come on! We’ve got a seat!”

Like the absolute genius she was, Beau pointed at herself and mouthed “Me?” 

Jester didn’t respond verbally, just continued to flap her hand in the come-over-here motion. 

Well, better to sit down and eat than to just stand in the doorway and look like an idiot. She carefully made her way through the crowd, pulling her jacket closer around her and trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Eventually, she made her way to the table and sat down, sandwiching herself between Jester and a tall, gaunt looking firbolg with bright pink hair. Jester was smiling widely as she turned to face her. “You ok, Beau?”

She shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs that had somehow caught every word she knew and kept her from speaking. “Yeah, ‘is fine. Lots of people, didn’t know where to sit.”

“Oh, I should have told you, I’m sorry.” The girl brushed some crumbs off her overalls that no one knew the origin of. “There aren’t really assigned seats, but people usually sit with their cabin. Speaking of which! Everyone, this is Beau, she’s awake now.”

Beau gave a half wave and sunk further into her chair, the mixture of the volume and the sudden attention really getting to her in the moment.

Fjord ran his fingers through his hair from the other side of the table and let out a sigh. “Jess, it’s her first day, let the girl breathe.”

The tiefling sat back in her chair, her cheery demeanor shutting down in a matter of seconds. “Am I being too much again?”

“No no no, that’s not what I meant.” He took a deep breath to re-center himself. “I know that you haven’t really dealt with a new person yet, but a lot of the time, this is very tiring for people. Lots of new experiences, lots of sounds, new environments, you know.”

“Right.” She fiddled with the edge of the table for a second before looking back towards Beau. “I’m sorry.”

Beau shook her head a bit. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m mostly just recovering from the nap. My brain isn’t fully awake yet, but the… everything should help with that.”

“Ok.”

The whole group sat in silence for a minute as Jester recovered her mood. Luckily, she seemed very quick to bounce back, and before the first table was even called up to wash their hands, she seemed to be back to her wide, excitable self. Even so, it was Fjord who spoke first, his attention turning to Beau. “Well, I feel like we might not have got off on the right foot necessarily. I think maybe we should actually… introduce ourselves?”

“Right!” Jester shot forward as if she had just had a brilliant idea, causing half the table to pull back into their seats. She quickly sat back down and sheepishly smiled. “Sorry.”

Based on the communal sigh from everyone at the table, Beau had a feeling that was a common occurrence. Fjord smiled at her, though, and shook his head like a tired parent. “Well, the names Fjord. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Sorry again about the volume.”

“Nice to meet you, Fjord.” He seemed mellow. She liked that.

The tall firbolg beside her gave her a small wave. “My name’s Caduceus. Caduceus Clay.”

They went around the table like that pretty quickly. There was Jester and Veth/Nott (she was still confused on which was right), who she knew, a shorter ginger human named Caleb who Veth introduced (He was hiding his face in a book. Beau wished she could be doing the same), an ostentatious purple tiefling named Molly who she found herself staring at for long periods, and a very tall muscular girl named Yasha who she found herself staring at even longer. It was a very eclectic bunch, most of which had some obvious problems, and they weren’t at all what Beau was expecting. But then again, what had she been expecting? It was a camp for messed up kids who couldn’t go anywhere else. Why would she think they would all look like her? The leftover closed-mindedness of her small town apparently was stronger than she thought.

They made a bit of small talk, they being mostly Jester, Molly, and Fjord, with the others occasionally chiming in. Beau stayed out of it for the most part and just watched, save only for when a question was directed at her. When they got their food, she stayed much quieter, trying her best to time her eating with the rest of the group to hide the fact that she hadn’t eaten all day. Some of the group members quieted as they ate, while some got louder and spoke more. It was interesting to watch, and Beau made sure to tuck each and every piece of information away into the back of her mind.

Eventually, dinner came to a close, and the 4 groups of kids all got up and started making their way back down the hill. While she wasn’t talking yet, Beau was a bit more comfortable with them all, and by the time they made it down to the cabin, her hood was down and her hands were in her pockets for the warmth rather than to hide the way her fingers ran along the seam for comfort. She wasn’t exactly planning on spilling her life story, but she didn’t want to hide. It was nice.

The other kids filtered into their cabins while her group made their way a little slower than everyone else. Jester ran forward as fast as she could and grabbed a log from the side of the house. She carefully propped it up next to the stairs to the door and reached a hand up towards the roof. A few of the other members of the group chuckled as she pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. She spent a moment looking around, seemingly pleased by whatever she saw. Then, without warning, she pulled on a string and the paper unfurled, revealing a banner with bright, blocky letters on them: “Home of The Mighty Nein!”

Fjord looked down at Beau with a slight smile, shaking his head a bit at the theatrics of it all. “Welcome to the group, Beau. It’s gonna be a weird ride.”


End file.
